Travel Diaries - Dashing & Dizzying Dubai - Part 2

It started. The car purred like a mighty lion, whirred like a roaring helicopter and snarled like an angry tiger. The driver was seated behind the wheels with lots of confidence to such a degree that he could have easily cracked the toughest question in Google Interviews! He was a cheerful person who said he had specialized in the art of driving through the sand dunes on a regular basis. And he really was an expert. The way he handled the speed of the car and manoevered it on the widely undulating terrain of the desert with so much ease and finesse was something remarkable that it made my heart skip for a moment or two on certain stretches when the car was descending downhill a colossal sand dune. The turns, twists, ups and downs was like a thrilling roller coaster ride that is sure to make you thank the driver for such an unforgettable and indelible drive in the sand of time, pun intended.  

To top it, I was seated right beside the driver which gave me, other than the driver,  the unedited and unfiltered full view of what was coming and what was going to come on that dry patch of smoking hot land. To make matters worse or interesting, the other drivers were competing with each other to overtake, heedless and mindless of the risk, that even one small slip or slide can send the car along with the passengers toppling and tumbling down like a boulder on a sloped mountain. Luckily, no cars had to face the brunt and brutality of that eventuality as they were all seasoned drivers who had a pre-determined route to reach the dining place where we had the ravishing dancer performing her steamy, seductive, sensual belly moves that would have left Shakira open mouthed, the light ablaze Tanura dance and the scintillating fire eaters in the chilly evening of my first ever desert night which ended with a decent dinner and drop to the hotel again.

I had the slight apprehension that the menu would be only non-veg and that I had to go on an empty tummy to sleep. Luckily, they had vegetarian options, however only handful, it was like a blessing from the Angels in the sky and I sunk my teeth into whatever that was available. The situation was not as bad as it was in Hong Kong where either the veg food was extremely expensive or it had some kind of fish or prawns in it or they had no veg item at all - at least in the vicinity where my hotel was. That was the moment I felt being a veg was a curse on occasions if you don't eat anything apart from fruits and vegetables. I had to request the order taker and make him understand that I did not want any fish or prawns or squids in the soupy noodles but just plain noodles. Till date, I have no idea whether what I told him repeatedly for more than half an hour helped me to get a pure veg meal but it certainly created a lasting effect that whenever there is a normal buffet that I ask it's veg or non-veg when the placards aren't placed. In fact, I was left with no other option but to sustain myself on chips, coke, chocolate and water during my entire stay at Hong Kong. This is one biggest advantage in Singapore where I had the luxury of plentiful restaurants to choose from to satiate my vegetarian hunger. Singapore was a home away from home in every spirit of the letter of the word - Maybe the location of my hotel was such that - Still from whatever I had heard from my friends there, Singapore has no paucity for veg food throughout their country.

Coming back to Dubai now, the following morning was spent in a day tour which included Dubai's incredible achievements in the museum, beach-whose-name-I-forgot, photo stops at important landmarks like the Palace and a final drop at one of the I-forgot-name places where Indian restaurants were aplenty in Bur Dubai. Not wanting to waste money unnecessarily on a hired cab, I took an abra - Dubai's wooden boat - and travelled across the Dubai Creek from where it was walking distance to my hotel. If the morning was good, the evening was even better as we had a leisurely relaxed, pleasantly calm, peaceful atmosphere to go hand in hand with the soothing winds and enchanting music played in the Dhow Cruise and its delicious sit down buffet. After what seemed like more than an hour, the Cruise cruised to dock leaving me with a good, restful sleep and munchy dreams.

The next day was something which I was awaiting with eager anticipation like our Board exam results. We had to traverse through Abu Dhabi to reach the Yes Mall where Formula Rossa - the world's fastest roller coaster - was sleeping silently until awakened abruptly from her slumber. It was unbelievable. The initial thrust to get the momentum, the wild rush of wind through you when the ride is in progress, the free fall of all the potential energy converted to kinetic energy at that mind-blowing speed - It was a dream come true. You are also given specially designed eyewear to protect your eyes from the flying insects during the whooshing course of the exhilarating spin. However, the calculated scientist in me wanted to test the waters as to why the boards said 'Don't keep your arms open' by defying it and instantly I understood why the boards read the danger sign. The pressure applied on my hands by the speed of the coaster was such that it was next to impossible to even raise the hands. It was like you try to stand up but an invisible force forcefully knocks you on the head and makes you sit down! The rest of the mall had real F1 Ferrari cars and its engines, Ferrari on-road cars like Enzo and some rides that were good but not as cracking as Formula Rossa. The driver cum guide made his pitstop at the hotel again after a very long and tiring day where we covered Abu Dhabi with its palaces, one white mosque, picture stops at hotels and Yes Mall.

And the big day, pun intended, arrived. A stunning view was awaiting from the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa with their one of a kind Augmented Reality Telescope where you can compare yesteryear's Dubai with the present one. More to the gorgeous views and telescope was the holographic projections of how the towering engineering marvel was constructed along with the timelines that is surely make your head spin like a top. Also, they claimed that their elevator will make its trip to the 124th floor in one minute and the claim was actually true when I captured the duration of the descent and saw it for myself.

The rest of the day was to spend the day at the Dubai Mall. It was so big that I felt like walking endlessly on escalators, stairs and floors. Having just glimpsed one section of the mall and the famous Dubai Rink without actually involving in the sport, it was high time for me to bid adieu to the never-ending house of all the world-famous brands under one roof so that I could get sufficient time to immerse myself in Miracle Garden - the world's largest flower garden.

From many shapes, sizes, colors, architectures and designs, all the flowers were exquisitely and intricately arranged that it was an extremely beautiful delight to feast upon the multifarious hues and contrasts in the vast mass of concrete and sand that occupied the majority of the place. After a thoroughly mesmerizing outing with the flowers, the sun was slowly dying down and I was told by the guide, who dropped me @ Burj Khalifa, that Global Village is another place which shouldn't be missed out.

Hiring a cab on my own again and making a good half an hour journey distance by wading through the traffic, the Global Village presented itself with a dazzling display of lights, rides, foods, stalls. acrobats, and country themes that is sure to wanting to leave you for more when this extravaganza keeps carrying into the night. Bidding a relatively early tearful farewell, there was one more thing which was on the to-do list before I left Dubai the next day  - to catch up with a movie. I heard from the receptionist in the hotel that the Mall of Emirates is yet another place that shouldn't be missed out. So, I decided to watch a movie in the Mall of Emirates by hiring another can from the Global Village.

Sipping into the whacking great Haagen Dazs Vanilla Shake with a tub of Caramel Popcorn to keep me company, Concussion was not that great a film but the ambience provided by the theatre was freaking fantastic that it wanted me to watch Alvin and Chipmunks in 4D. Unfortunately, as I converted the ticket price to rupees, it was staggering that I decided to hit the bed after hiring another taxi.   

After a dead tired day and having slept well, I woke up on the last day to do a neat packing for the return journey back home. Still left with time for the departure, I proceeded towards the Jumeriah Beach by the train as I had the hard experience from the previous night that the cabs were not that cheap when converted into rupees. Lazing in the beach for some time, it was a mad rush towards the hotel by the return train as the time was fast approaching to say goodbye to Dubai and its wonderful memories though there were other escapades which was missed out in this trip which I will definitely give a try if I get an opportunity to visit once more permitting time and money:

a) Sky Diving
b) Recently opened Bollywood Theme Park
c) Go around the complete Dubai Mall including their Aquarium and Rink
d) See the entire city under lights from atop the 148th observatory deck
e)  Any other place of worthy attraction that comes up in future in this fascinating place for tourists

To conclude, Dubai is a MUST visit place for everyone at least once to see for themselves how a nothing place has radically transformed itself into a buzz of activity with a wealth of Black Gold and an oasis of labour at their disposal thus providing safety, security and growth to everyone.
                                                               
                                                                 X---Concluded---X

PS:
If you don't want to believe me how beautiful Dubai is, kindly watch Jacobinte Swargarajyam... :) 

Bairavaa - Ada Aandavaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (Oh Gawddddddddddd!)

                                           

Vijay has always been the go-to actor when it comes to big releases which screens on festive occasions to rake in the extra moolah offered generously by his hardcore fans, fervent haters (Read: mostly Ajith devotees) and neutral audiences. His bankability is such that even HDFC, ICICI banks etc. need to take a leaf out of his revenue generating prowess! 

After Theri, Vijay had set his eyes on Pongal for his 'Bairavaa'. Teaming up with director Bharatan on yet another venture, (Remember the cataclysmic disaster 'Azhagiya Tamizh Magan'?), the trailer showed us the glimpses that 'Bairavaa' is going to revolve around a social-centric theme which was very evident from the court scene where the lawyer says 'How is this relevant to the case'

                                                                         The Trailer

So, once you have seen the trailer, you know for sure that 'Bairavaa' may be 'Kathi' or 'Thupakki' parcelled in a different yet formulaic Vijay format to cater to the needs of the audience especially his devouts. Did it really live up to the expectations?

Everything in this world has pros and cons. But, if the cons outnumber, outweigh and eclipse the pros, that's when the house of cards fall apart without even the iota of evidence to show that the house existed in the first place.

'Bairavaa' has a solid, core story like the strong foundation of a building. It reflects the stark reality of the Medical Mafia that is rife in our society. Even an Adult actor/actress couldn't have bared their nakedness as plain as that is projected in Bairavaa of all those extorting and predating upon the helpless and hapless students aspiring and and dreaming to become successful doctors in their lives. 'Hey..That's a good story to discuss publicly in an open medium. What is to complain about it?' I can hear your mind voice. That's why I had already acknowledged that Bairavaa has a deeply relatable and au courant storyline like the farmers' issue or the sleepers cell matter. However, the latter movies kept you engaged till the end. 'So, you mean to say that Bairavaa failed to keep the audience at the edge of their seats'? I can once again read your mind voice crystal-clearly. Read on to find out.

It started with the Intro song. It was as if the intro song would cover the entire movie's duration and go on forever! Luckily the song came to an end after what seemed like ages. Vijay has had all kinds of  possible 'mass-setting' intro scenes with the only exception of a Sky-Diving or jumping from a rocket! Here, the director thinks that he is giving a twist by showing us Sathish in the first scene wrapped from head to toe in blanket and then revealing it is not Vijay! 

Speaking of Sathish, his jokes sporadically evoke laughter every now and then like the "IT..Nightie dialogue" or "Idhellam unaku edhuku" whenever Vijay monkeys around with his expressions. Just when you feel that the director has forgotten all about Sathish in the second half, he makes a reappearance like the Halley's Comet! in the fag end of the movie and plays an inconsequentially crucial part to bring down the main villain. Why I said "inconsequential", you will know when you watch the movie when Vijay plays a supposedly friendly hand with Daniel Balaji who is on the verge of turning into a new leaf but predictably what should happen happens!

Everyone knows that Vijay is going to bash up the goons and come up triumphs. But, movies like Thuppakki or Kathi kept you engaged with its narration of the story keeping in mind of Vijay's image. In Bairavaa, however, the good story is let down by an abysmal and dismal screenplay. On top of that, the breadcrumbs laid out by the director are so very evident that it will make you to predict like a seasoned Astrologer what the subsequent scenes would be just like Daniel Balaji's fate when the movie is actually in progress.

Nothing to talk much about Keerthi Suresh. The scene where she tells her life story to Vijay prior to the interval was more like a school kid reciting a poem to the teacher when questioned! Likewise, a good actor as Thambi Ramaiah was simply being trifled away like the withering of a leaf. If the director felt that the Rajender comedy sequence would make the audience go into raptures, it certainly ruptured the rapture to such clinical perfection that even the most boring history teacher would have found it as dull as dust!

Speaking of dust, Santhosh Narayanan's music was next to being worthless. His BGM was the only saving grace in this otherwise lacklustre outing. Also, if you have a keen ear, you can certainly spot that he had lifted and infused Interstellar's theme music in the film.

                                                                  From 0:50 to 1:52...

Maybe, if you watch it once more, you may find other film's themes to be copied very discreetly. I am not going to take that chance to view it the second time. Once was more than enough.

And Vijay. The film largely depends on him but the director has spectacularly and miserably failed to extract the full potential from him. In Bairavaa, he is performing the similar-to-same expressions that he had donned in Kathi, Thuppaki and Theri that you are left wondering whether you are watching any of those movies once again. Take for instance. In Theri, you have his child calling him 'Baby'. Here, it is 'Darling'. Maybe in the next movie, it will be 'Honey' or 'Bujju Kutti'!

Also, the scenes where he plays the coin between the fingers is a direct lift off from Pirates of Carribean.

                                                       Kindly check out 1:48 to 1:54

In all these copied, borrowed, yawn-inducing scenes or the intermittent humor, one stand out moment in the movie was the Cricket choreographed stunt sequence which comes very early in the movie. I am sure in his upcoming films it will be replaced with Football or Basketball!

Even for an ardent 'Thalapathy' fanatic, Bairavaa had nothing new or great to offer except the above-mentioned cricket fight. This movie has again the standard run-of-the-mill interval block, same-to-similar staccato laugh, dance and the usual one song sung by Vijay himself. In fact, 'Kabali' had 'Magizhchi'. Here, it is 'Sirappu..Miga Sirappu'. It was really a good thing that no Thala fan said 'Serappu' whenever that dialogue was delivered!

But, one thing was made clear - With all the socio-centered themes incorporated in his films, Vijay is clearly forming a well-defined image to be an aspiring politician in real life. The important question is 'How soon?'. 

To sum it up, Bairavaa had all the elements and substances to be something extremely big with a huge larger-than image actor as Vijay. But, the execution of the movie was such that to put things into perspective, you have the best ingredients to make a delicious and mouth-watering Biryani but the cooking and presentation is so awful that it doesn't make sense for such cherry-picked constituents to be used to prepare the Biryani in the first place courtesy the chef!

By the movie's end, all I could say was "Pogalam pogalam va pogalam va Bye-Ravaa" !

Travel Diaries - Dashing & Dizzying Dubai - Part 1

Ever since Burj Khalifa was inaugurated in 2010, I was waiting for the right opportunity to get a direct glimpse of the towering beauty in reality than merely reading about her in books or watching the images and imagining it. My interest heightened to a stunning 828m when Tom Cruise performed an unimaginable daredevilry in BK during one of the stunts in MI - Ghost Protocol. Likewise, the presence of the fastest roller coaster in the world and the colorful Miracle Garden had always wanted me to visit Dubai and enjoy its magnificence at an opportune moment. Little did I knew then that I would be seeing the wonders of this dazzling place not in happy circumstances but under a sad and bad situation.

So, when I decided to travel to lighten the heaviness in my mind and heart, there was no inkling of a doubt that the first place would be Dubai. As I was reeling under the burden and gravity of my sorrows, I left the complete itinerary to Makemytrip.com. I was helped by a sweet, soft-spoken, friendly and expeditious representative - Neha Nair - from the Makemytrip office in Nungambakkam. All I had to do was to choose the right package according to my mode of preference. Apart from Miracle Garden, there was everything which I had wanted to see in their set package. Neha took care of all the Visa and other formalities with swift action. All was set and done and prior to collecting my travel documents, I was informed that a representative would be waiting in the airport to receive and drop me in the hotel.

The D-day arrived. I was ready to begin my adventure-spiritual journey - without parents, relatives or friends to watch me over for the first time in my life - at the first stop in Dubai. Since I desired to see this wondrous destination, it was the only planned place in my "The Emotional Catharsis Trip". That was the name I had given to the entire backpack roving as it reflected my then mood and emotions in to which I was being sucked into like a water going down the sink.

After arriving at the Dubai airport and clearing the immigration formalities, I got my first brain freeze. The representative who was supposed to pick me up wasn't there. It was then I realized that I should have got a Dubai Sim before setting foot on the Dubai soil, okay concrete! I tagged a marker in my brain to remind myself to get a Sim firstup to communicate with the guides in case of any emergency such as the one I was facing then. Luckily, the instructions in the schedule were as crystallized and refined as sugar that I followed them to the t and ended up in the right place - Limo counter - where I was to board a BMW and alight at my destined, pre-booked hotel - St. George.

After filling in the required forms in the hotel, I was asked to wait for some time due to the discrepancies of the checking in time. Not wanting to waste time by simply idling, I asked the concierge to point me to the nearest Sim dealer after my initial hiccup at the airport. They were courteous enough to offer me a ride in their own cab to the close-by City Centre Mall. 

Enquiring as to how the Burj Khalifa wasn't to be seen anywhere, it was then I knew that Dubai was divided into Bur Dubai and Deira Dubai separated by the Dubai Creek and that BK was in the industrial hub - Bur Dubai. Also, the world-famous Gold Souk was just behind my hotel. I was told by the driver with his manageable English that if I had some spare time I should definitely pay a visit to the place even if I don't buy anything to simply witness the hustle and bustle of the market.  

Politely nodding my head, I was awe-struck by the way that the people of Dubai had completely transformed a barren and arid desert by nothing but Black Gold in their reserves to pave the way for accelerated development in less than 4 decades. But, after travelling to Singapore, I realized that SG was better than Dubai for the fact that Singapore did not possess any valuable natural resource like oil but still were able to show the world that is possible to have growth and prosperity by sheer discipline, hard work and sincerity.

Having dropped me at the mall, I zeroed in on the dirt cheapest Etisalat connection as I just wanted a namesake local sim to speak with the guides. By the end of the trip, I was cursing myself for not trusting the arrangements of Makemytrip as everything, besides the initial problem, was arranged so pucca by them that I felt I shouldn't have wasted my money on the sim but rather should have had the creamy, different-flavored and the many multi-colored ice-creams that was near the 'At the Top' centre in the Dubai Mall.

Hiking a cab after activating the sim, I was asked to wait for sometime before a room was allotted as it wasn't still the time for check-in. Seated comfy and reading the papers, I experienced my second brain freeze. I heard one of the couple saying that they were scared of the IS related happenings all over the world and that the USA should take strong steps to prevent such horrible attacks. It was after they said it that I had a bout of overwhelming realization that I was actually close to those terror people and I started to feel shit scared that someone would stab a knife in my brain. In the meantime, I was shown to my room. I freshened up quickly to be ready in time for my pick up to the first activity.

I voiced my apprehensive concern to my guide during the Desert Safari drive and he patiently reassured me saying that Dubai was an extremely safe place for everybody as even their numero uno used to drive alone in his car and their own women can walk in the night without any fear. Such was their level of law and security that has ensured Dubai to be a much-sought after place for tourists.

Hearing his comforting, realistic and assuasive words, I heaved a sigh of big relief as I was already drowning under my own emotional duress and the last thing which wanted me to bother like a noisy mosquito was the cloud of an IS attack. I was mentally relieved and fully geared up ,pun intended, myself to experience the ballet with the golden shiny sands of the desert courtesy the guide and Makemytrip.com. 

More on the action-packed tryst with the weather beaten grains on the hot desert mounds, the engineering marvel of BK, the multifarious hues of Miracle Garden and adrenaline-pumping Formula Rossa will be covered and completed in Part 2.

Star Wars: Rogue One - It's not Nastily Nasty!

There was a time in history when I used to be super excited whenever December arrived. Initially, during my school days, it was due to the Half-Yearly Holidays that used to co-incide with the New Year and gave me the much needed respite from the continual bombardment of assignments, tests and exams. After then, the month of Christmas had an extremely valuable present to offer me which even the Santa Claus cannot even imagine to deliver with his faithful elves and reindeers!

The one main reason why I used to smack my lips lusciously during the last month of every year was because of The Hobbit Trilogy. Peter Jackson was my Santa Claus for those memorable years when The Hobbit 1,2 and 3 were released following the LoTR trilogy which ended way back in 2003. So, it was indeed a heart wrenching and intensely saddening moment when the Battle of the 5 Armies came to a grinding halt. I felt all was lost when like a LightSaber the Star Wars was renewed again in 2015 - December again!

Instead of waiting for an excruciating 2 long years, the producers had decided to pitch in a spin-off in 2016 - December -  so that the tormenting hiatus is reduced to a year. Now, you know as to why I mentioned the December references earlier.

Star Wars: Rogue One - I went in with great anticipation, obviously and naturally, as it is STAR WARS. It did not turn out into a damp squib but at the same time SW:RO was not that great either.

Take for instance - Cassian falling off from the tower and apparently dies when Jyn and he try strenuously to retrieve and transmit the Death Star codes to the command ship. No one has to take Ayahuasca or any other entheogens to figure out that Cassian hadn't died but would make a dramatic entry in the climax. If the director and the script writer felt that it would be an out of the blue twist, they really need to put on their thinking hats and helmets! It was so obvious that Cassian hadn't died as:

a) Seen many such instances in Tamil movies where the hero play all the histrionics to create the illusion that he had died but eventually catches up and bashes up the goons in the last scenes.
b) Cassian and Jyn - the lead pair hadn't kissed yet! when he was attacked by Krennic.

The first half was like the spaceships jumping through the Hyperspace - fast, quick and instantaneous. But, the second half was dragging so slowly that it was like a child digging into their heels when we want  them to do something which they don't want to. It was extremely good to see the Darth Vader in his most ominous and menacing form striking terror into the hearts of the Rebels and the appearances of R2D2 & C3PO was the icing on the cake. Unfortunately, the problem with post-interval was that the action sequences seemed to go on forever like the creation and destruction that is continuously happening in our ever-expanding Universe! Likewise, there was a shallow emotional connect with any of the characters on screen. You should actually feel for Cassie and Jyn when they were been blown apart by the Death Star after all their heroics, exploits and travails. Sadly, it was like a non-HP fan watching Severus Snape being killed by Nagini and saying 'Big Deal!'.

Donnie Yen who had reprised the famous role of Ip Map was giving his swashbuckling kicks and stunts. He did justice to the monk's character. Still, something was amiss. Might be his screen share. or the director's lack of knack to extract his full potential. SW:RO wanted to be kickass and badass simultaneously but ended up short of being kicked in the ass!

The Importance of a Name

What is a name? At the highest level, a name is nothing but a word which is in turn stitched together with random letters from the appropriate language's alphabet soup (in this case, English) and given a specific pronunciation depending upon its usage and context. Digging a bit deeper like how we spade the ground to plant a sapling, the name is a label representing any object - living or nonliving - along with its meaning to recognize, identify the object correctly and understand it better so that confusions doesn't arise while communicating or expressing or participating in an interaction between/amongst us - Human Beings. Since, we are on the topic of words,

                        

              One of my favos that turned me into a hopeless and quixotically romantic

Shakespeare had rightly said when he observed and proclaimed "A rose by any other name is still a rose". Extending his pointed and succinct statement (Alliteration time again! :P), inevitably and inherently, the natural corollary of his pithy remark is that the object called rose can actually exist without the label or in other words, to be crystal clear, the name that we have imposed upon the object "rose" for our own convenience. It's like the evergreen Senthil-Goundamani comedy where Senthil says "Poova poo num solalam puipam num solalam neenga solra  maariyum solalam". (A flower can be called a flower or in the manner you say it!).

             From 0.00 to 1:58...Lol-o-Lol..But, the message is deep when we see beyond the humor

Why am I giving such a boring lecture? It is certainly not an obiter dictum or a fugacious flippant  (It's 'A' time again.!) assertion that is based on my personal experience, realization or understanding. Or, it may be also.! Anyway, You will know why soon enough. But, to get to the why, we need to have an experiment now so that the understanding is lot clearer and simpler. I request you to kindly give in your uninterrupted and undivided attention for some time.

Imagine......Imagine yourself walking in a big red house which has a beautiful green garden with tall eucalyptus trees surrounding it. You can smell the deep medicinal smell of eucalyptus now. Amidst the tall trees, yellow flowers like Kanikonna or the golden rain flower are growing with black bees and blue butterflies fighting with each other to get their share of nectar from them. 

Hope you have imagined till now. Just a little bit more and it will be over soon. Please do continue imagining that....

There is a big red rose right in the middle of your spectacular garden already occupied by tall trees, Kanikonna and teeming with black bees and blue butterflies. Now, hold on to that mental picture in your mind for a couple of seconds. Voila! The experiment is over and you have with passed with flying colors as long as you had involved and engaged yourself completely.

How did this all happen? 

We have been hard-wired, right from birth, to systematically match the words and their meanings to the objects so that the association to these impressions of objects happen naturally and automatically from our sub-conscious memory with us being aware of it consciously and unconsciously at the same time. Sounds labyrinth confusing?

No rose on a plant in our planet has ever yelled or said "Hey..I am called rose. Please call me by that name". And it is applicable to each and every word of any language - ancient or modern. All words are deemed relevant to the specific or general objects only from the point of view of our species. It's like Phoebe saying "Potato Potaato..Whatever"

         Another gem which has a rich meaning when it is looked through the obvious humorous side

At the end of the day, when you can ask a scientist what was the single most difficult aspect of his/her ground-breaking discovery, they will immediately and without any second hesitation say "naming it".

Naming is a nightmarish task for any Brand Consultant who would have come up with an excellent strategy to beat their competitors for their product by framing the essential Branding attributes, traits and personality to breathe soul to the product but ultimately find it extremely difficult to give the product a memorable, catchy, non-offensive in any language, unique and sound cool name. If the BC goes in for another criteria - to reflect the product's core benefit like Fair&Lovely as the brand's name - to get instant Brand recognition, they will surely go bald after tearing their head apart just to get the product's name right. THAT is the import, significance and value of a name. A complete dealbreaker between billion dollars and also-rans.

I will give one more example in our Indian context. 

Other than the DeMon implementation, Modi Ji is doing everything in his power to make it right for our country stand tall and proud in the global arena. But, whenever he flies to other countries to woo the investors, his name is being dragged and draped with mud and filth. The problem is not with him going abroad but with the way the media projects his tours as "Foreign tours", "Foreign visits" etc. So, from the common man's (read: the uneducated majorities) perspective, when they hear labels like "Foreign tours", "Foreign visits", they get the impression that our PM is relaxing and enjoying in his trips without taking care of them or the nation which gives Modi Ji a bad name despite he working hard for the welfare of the people. And his selfies doesn't help him either with the opposition launching an all-out attack on him whenever they get the slightest whiff of possibility.

When a person does not do anything and gets a bad name, it is justice. But, when an individual works tirelessly, produces results yet gets a tarnished image, in my opinion, that's wrong.

What can be done is to rename Modi Ji's "Foreign tours", "Foreign visits" as "Capital Acquisition Engagement" or  "Investment Magnetization Exercise" or "Investment Employment Collaboration" etc. that aptly reflects his tour schedule as sometimes he may visit the heads of other countries to create a sense of goodwill between the nations as well. So, the more complex the naming phrases, the better as the people will perceive that Modi Ji is doing something extraordinary and exceptional that no one has done before him when in reality he is only trying to convince the investors to start their operations in India. Likewise, such a renaming would effectively seal the lips of anyone and everyone who dare to raise the issue when he is away from our country for inking business deals.

It might seem fraudulent to some people who may lambast me saying that it is tricking and manipulating our own country people. Au Contraire, it is wrong ONLY IF Modi Ji does not go to other countries and persuade them for their investments. But, he is doing all these things. Isn't he?

To make it more comprehensible and easier - If I give you an apple for your birthday as a gift, you will definitely give a smirk and bad mouth about me to your friends after I had departed from the party. But, if I present you the same apple in a golden colored wrapper neatly tied with a red ribbon on top of it, you would squeal with delight.  

That is exactly what I am also suggesting. It is just presenting the same information (read: Foreign tours, Foreign trips) in new way.

So, the next time when anyone says "what's in a name"? Just point them to this blog....eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.. :) :) :) 

PS:

All the opinions, experiment designed and inferences derived from the comedy scenes are solely mine and no one is to be held accountable other than me if you have the feel that they are restrictedly right. The suggestion given is solely based on facts and my own qualified understanding of the subjects - Marketing&Branding.

Travel Diaries - The Trailer

"Once a year, go some place you've never been before" - Dalai Lama

The deeply revered and highly respected Dalai Lama was two hundred percent right when he made this profound statement.

Most of the populace have the perception that travel is an unnecessary expenditure or that travelling is a waste of money or a form of much-needed break to bring themselves from the brink of death due to their routine, tedious, listless and tiresome work/school lives so that they can revive and rejuvenate themselves.

According to me, travelling is a wholesome learning experience which pushes the boundaries of our rigid and hardened mental thought process to brighter and newer avenues which makes you to be open to fresher insights that life has to offer to us. Some have told me that it would be boring to learn even during vacation time. My take is that learn the right things but do it with fun and enjoyment so that you don't feel that a millstone is tied around your neck when you try something afresh.

Ever since a kid, I have been exposed to different kinds of destinations - from the usual and standard Ooty, Kodaikanal, Munnar, Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram to places of immense beauty as Taj Mahal, Jaipur Palace to more breath-taking, pun intended, places like Gangtok, Kullu-Manali, Shimla to holy places like Vaishno Devi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath et al - I had visited them during my summer holidays when I was a kid. So, I was not a tyro when it came to visiting places or undergoing hardships during the course of the journey as in lack of food and sleep, extreme weather, knee and back aching bus travels etc.

My interest piqued further when one of my Team Leads at TCS had extensively travelled to wonderful and scenic spots in Europe during his tryst with his MBA in Netherlands. After slogging and clocking many a 7 day-a-week work schedule during critical delivery periods, I was actually looking for the right opportunity to ask my Boss for a two week break from work after he had given me a good appraisal during my yearly performance review which would be held during March-April. Unfortunately, my personal reasons forced me to resign from a prestigious organization as TCS. To clear my highly and heavily cluttered head, I resorted to what I liked to do - Travel.

For the first time in my life, I was completely free and totally uninhibited to do what and whatever I wanted to do in my life. There were infinite possibilities that were strewn in front of me like hay before a cow. I could have easily taken up to smoking, drinking, drugs or prostitutes. But, my moral compass was so strong that I took it as a test to my integrity laid out by God. By saying this, I am not saying directly or indirectly that whoever resorts to cigarettes, booze, weed or indulging with women of loose character to be wrong or bad. Every action has a consequence. Whether it's good action or bad consequence - that's the individual's choice. I wisely chose the right decision knowing how a wrong or even a potentially wrong action could affect everyone especially myself.

What I wanted was simple in this soul-searching expedition - have a sense of adventure infused with spiritualism so that it will lighten the immense burden in my heart and head that was giving me an extremely hard time. Though I fully left the tour itinerary to my travel operators, none of my traveled places were actually planned other than Dubai. It was mostly from other fellow passengers' suggestions and recommendations that I thought about my next place outside Tamil Nadu. 

While Dubai, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Ladakh were meticulously planned by various tour operators, I chose to roam around Goa in the rented blue Dio on my own free will to be a pure traveller who is not tied to any ball and chain of the taut schedules.

The first tryst was to Dubai. Followed by Goa. Then, Thekkady. Following closely on the heels were temples of worship as Madurai, Kumbakonam, Trichy, Kanchipuram and Pondicherry. Engaged in a full-fledged Vipassana course @ Tiruvannamalai. Hong Kong and Thailand were next in line which was trailed by the Leh-Ladakh excursion. Finally, as a treat to my mom, I went to Singapore and ended my self-introspection Globetrotting cum Indiatrotting sojourn.

In Tamil, we have a figurative saying "Kashmir mudhal Kanyakumari varai". It means a very long distance. I rephrased it as "From Ladakh to Kanyakumari" as Ladakh is even more further than Kashmir!  The only thing which was missed out in this entire journey was the brilliant reddish-orange hues of sunrise and sunset in Kanyakumari. But, since I had already seen it earlier in my life, it did not matter and bother me much.

However, there were plenty of adventures like being almost trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants during a night time dare, an arduous trekking of almost 40 kms, parasailing in Pattaya, skipping with joy at the magical marvels of Disneyland, feeding a tiger, surfing & sailing, stunning panoramic view atop the Burj Khalifa, riding the fastest roller coaster in the world, enjoying the dry and cold winds of Ladakh's serene Buddhist monasteries, sizzling Singapore beauty and friendly Indianized atmosphere - this break off was indeed worth every penny, sorry rupee, for which I intended to travel in the first place - to ease the pain and torment that I was undergoing prior to TCS's resignation.

However, there is one place, sorry many places, that are still pending in my bucket list which I would love to visit at least once in my life whenever time and money permits:

a) Igloo Room in Greenland/Iceland and immerse in the dazzling colourful palettes of Aurora Borealis

b) Water Bungalow in the pristine, glistening and sun-kissed beaches of Maldives/ Bora Bora

c) Have a date with the Penguins in their own natural settings of the frigid white sheets in the magnificent Antarctica

d) Bungee Jumping and Glowing Caves in the adventure capital of the world - New Zealand

e) Skydiving in Dubai , Scuba Diving in Indonesia/Andaman, Hot Air Ballooning anywhere picturesque in the world

f) A true African Safari in Kenya meeting the Lions and Giraffes running and hunting feral

g) Get absorbed and captivated by the riveting architecture of the history rich Rome and Venice
    (Ofcourse, Dan Brown is the main inspiration!)

h) Swisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

i) Las Vegas 

j)  Finest cruise in the world

k) Russia
l)  Have the majestic Lord Siva's Darshan @ Mt. Kailash

Any other place which I feel worthy enough to be added in my bucket list shall be done as and when exposed to newer places and experiences through books and movies.

PS:

So, why is this called trailer? Because the main picture lies in the splendid mock-tail of adventures and spiritualism which I had the chance to glimpse, thanks to God's grace, courtesy the jam-packed itineraries prepared by the various trip advisers during the course of all my backpacking self-reflection jaunt. The big picture - Coming soonnnnnn...!! :) 

Arrival - The Materialization of Something Big - Part 2

Without much ado, I shall dig deep into the Earth as everyone knows about the famed and critically raved Cream Centre. So, I am sure I do not have to touch upon the topic of price and service as the premium paid to satisfy your linger is justified with the impeccable hospitality shown by the order takers. What is new then? Wellllllllllll.......

Imagine your friend tells you that there is a big reception with great unlimited food and they have the ticket to access the buffet counter. You ensure that your stomach is spick and span by having limited quantities of water with no/little solid viands so that you can wolf your way during the big event. I am sure this kind of situation would have happened at least once in your life whether you want to accept it or not. Nevertheless, the deep satisfied and contented feel that engulfs you inside is something which can relate to Po in the Kung Fu Panda! How does or what is the significance of this stupid imaginary story with respect to Cream Centre?  It will be known right after the full stop at the end of this sentence.

Cream Centre organizes numerous fests running throughout the year so that everyone can have a good feast. For instance, they have the chatty Chat fest, sizzling Sizzler fest, picky Paratha fest etc. As the year was slowly drawing to its end, CC unravelled their other drooling Biryani Bash to draw in the crowds as a part of their Marketing strategy. 

My friend and I entered into CC after a fantastic brainy fodder through the Arrival. As we sat relaxedly in the comfy seats and munched upon the menu especially the hero of the day for which I hadn't had a morsel of food since previous night's dinner. Now, you know why I brought in the realistically imaginary reference earlier. In fact, we curtailed the size of the popcorn combo during our movie watch so that we can involve and relish in the sumptuous dish for the ravenous appetite that we were experiencing then. Our ordered items were Penne Arabiatta and the famous Hyderabadi Biryani and it took some time for us to smell their heavenly flavors. In the meantime, my evergreen Orange Sunshine Soda shone a bright light in our lives until our nibbles were spread on our plates.

Rich and Creamy with tomato sauce, Penne Arabiatta was damn good and it was exactly the right portion for the two of us. Sipping in strawfuls of Orange Sunshine, the hot and steamy HB made her way on to the table. The cordon bleu was delightfully and deliciously divine with her spices and condiments which was rightly mixed in the correct proportions to the t. It took us more than half an hour to finish the complete course of HB courtesy the immense portion that was being spread to us on a regular basis by the waitperson.  

Close to an hour after having serenely sunk our teeth into the fulfilling, gladdening and gratifying appeal to our palates, we sadly bid adieu to one of the great restaurants in Chennai which despite burns a hole in the wallet, it is indeed a place where memories are etched in the vapors of their satisfying food.

What started with the enrichment of our grey matter through Arrival ended with the arrival of HB and a big stomach!!

                                                           X--Concluded--X